10 Best Smartwatches for Kids

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Today’s kids are surrounded by technology and wearables like smartwatches are suddenly becoming very popular. A smartwatch is a great gift that lets you keep tabs on your kids by GPS tracking and texts while allowing your child to keep track of their fitness and play a variety of apps and games. Unlike wearables designed for adults, a smartwatch for kids doesn’t rely on a smartphone’s data connection. They’re also more affordable and come loaded with games and apps to keep your child busy.

But let’s not leave older kids out. There are plenty of easy-to-use models that connect to a smartphone so they can stay in touch with you and their friends. So, if you’re looking to buy your kid a smartwatch for their birthday or just as a special gift, we put together this list of the 10 best smartwatches for kids of 2019.

View the Best Smartwatch For Kids, Below.

1. VTech Star Wars First Order Stormtrooper Smartwatch

This VTech smartwatch is perfect for your little galactic explorer. This touchscreen model comes with a built-in camera so kids can take photos and videos of their adventures. It features 3 mini games that can be played by touch or with a motion sensor including blasting asteroids, escaping Stormtroopers, and racing with BB-8.

Your child can personalize it by choosing an analog or digital clock face featuring their favorite Star Wars characters. Plus, this splash-proof smartwatch comes with a USB cable for recharging or downloading photos as well as a voice-changer and various action sound effects. Perfect for any star wars fan!

Why We Like It

Easy-to-use design

Built-in camera

Features an alarm, stopwatch, calendar, and calculator

Includes 3 Star Wars-themed activities

Our Verdict

The VTech Star Wars First Order Stormtrooper Smartwatch is a great gift for any young Star Wars fan. It comes packed with easy-to-use features that will help your child explore math and time concepts while offering fun activities like games, a cool voice-changer function, and an effect feature with sounds like 2 different lightsaber modes.

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2. Fitbit Versa Smart Watch

The Fitbit Versa SmartWatch is one of the best gifts you can buy an older kid who already owns a smartphone. This waterproof model has a four-day battery life and easily syncs up with Android and Apple mobile devices. It stores over 300 songs and allows downloading from sites like Pandora and comes with GPS capability.

For fitness monitoring, it has over 15 exercise modes and can track activities such as steps walked, heart rate, and sleep patterns. Plus, it receives calls, messages, and notifications, comes with some great pre-loaded apps, and has plenty of additional apps available from the Fitbit App Gallery. This watch has a bit more tech, so is a great gift idea for 11-year-old boys.

Why We Like It

Exercise and coaching modes will help kids keep in shape

Customizable watch face

Plenty of apps available

Phone-free music streaming

Receives calls, texts, and notifications

Our Verdict

The Fitbit Versa is a bit more expensive than other models on our listSmartWatchbut it’s perfect for teens ready to upgrade from a more basic, kid-oriented device. It connects to their smartphone so they can stay in touch with family and friends.

And it’s great for active kids since it has tons of exercise modes, can track their activities, and even has a coaching mode. Plus, with a customizable watch face, room for over 300 songs, and a large number of apps available, it’s really fun to use.

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3. Letsfit Smart Band

The Letsfit Smart Band is one of the most affordable options on our list but still comes with the features that any teenage boy or teenage girl will enjoy. This water-resistant smartwatch delivers up to 7 days of operation on a single charge and can be used to record all-day activities like distance, calories, steps, and sleep status. And since it can pair up with your kid’s smartphone, they can see incoming call, SMS, and SNS notifications right on their wrist.

Wrist Sense technology lights up the screen whenever you turn it towards you and multi-sport tracking records exercises like walking, running, riding, and more. Plus, there are several colors available and the watch face can be customized to a variety of different styles.

Why We Like It

Wrist Sense lights the screen when it’s turned towards you

24/7 activity monitoring

Multi-sport tracking

Delivers message and call notifications

Customizable

Our Verdict

The Letsfit Smart Band is a terrific option for older kids because it offers many of the features you’d find in more expensive devices at a fraction of the price. It monitors activities, keeps track of exercise routines, delivers notifications, and is highly customizable. Plus, it’s one of the most affordable smartwatches on the market, so you don’t have to worry about your child breaking or losing it.

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4. VTech Kidizoom Smartwatch DX2

VTech’s Kidizoom Smartwatch DX2 is designed with little kids in mind. It has 2 cameras, allowing your child to take pictures, videos, and selfies with one touch. And photo effects let your kid add stamps, frames, and filters to their images. For customization, there are over 55 analog and digital watch faces available or children can design their own. This water-resistant smartwatch comes loaded with motion-controlled challenges like Funky Jump.

And your child can explore time concepts with the built-in calendar, timer, and alarm. It even comes with 5 games including Monster Catcher where kids use the camera to capture monsters in augmented reality. And when your child gets bored, you can download new games from the Learning Lodge app store.

Why We Like It

2 built-in cameras

Highly customizable

Pre-loaded activity challenges

Comes with 5 touchscreen games

Our Verdict

The VTech Kidizoom Smartwatch DX2 is one of the best ways to introduce your child to wearable technology. With tons of games and activity challenges, it might be a blast to use but it’s also a great way to help your child learn basic concepts like math, time, and numbers. Plus, it comes in blue or pink, making it perfect for any child.

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5. TTHO Smart Watch for Kids

This smartwatch from TTHO is a simple, affordable way to keep in touch with your young child. It features several fun apps like a camera, alarm clock, audio player, and games like Tetris and has a stand-by battery life of 5 to 7 days. With the addition of a compatible SIM card, it doubles as a wearable phone that lets you keep in contact with your child and leave them voice messages. Plus, it comes in pink or blue, making it the perfect device for any young child.

Why We Like It

Can be used as a phone with the purchase of a SIM card

Built-in camera and image viewer

Comes pre-loaded with games and educational apps

Easy-to-use

Our Verdict

This Smartwatch is a terrific, affordable alternative to an expensive smartphone. Once you purchase a compatible SIM card, you can call your child and leave them voice messages but, since it’s worn on their wrist, you don’t have to worry about them misplacing their phone. Plus, it’s customizable and comes with a variety of fun games and apps to keep your child entertained.

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6. Garmin Vivofit Jr.

The Garmin Vivofit Junior is a durable, kid-friendly smartwatch. It comes with one black and one camouflage band and has a battery that lasts one year without recharging. Since it has a 5 ATM water-resistance rating, kids can wear it in the pool. It’s compatible to a parent’s smartphone through a free parent-controlled app that lets you monitor your child’s steps and activities. Plus, you can reward your child, encourage them to be active with a mobile adventure trail, and even assign them chores through your Apple or Android mobile device. This would make a great gift for a 9-year-old boy.

Why We Like It

Fun, stylish design

Parent-controlled app links to your smartphone

Swim-proof

1-year battery life

Monitor your child’s activities, assign chores, and give rewards

Our Verdict

The Garmin Vivofit Jr. is a fantastic way to keep tabs on your child’s activities while keeping them entertained. The 1-year battery life means you never have to recharge it. And the parent-controlled app is a great way to reinforce good behavior, monitor your child’s activities, and keep them motivated.

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7. Fitbit Ace

The Fitbit Ace is a scaled-down model of this popular brand’s higher-end models and is designed to fit the smaller wrists of kids who are 8 years old or older. It monitors steps, sleep quality, and activity and wirelessly sends stats to iOS and Android devices. Plus, it’s designed to motivate children to stay active by sending them gentle reminders to stay active at pre-determined internals and rewarding them for reaching goals by sending them achievement badges and celebratory messages.

It’s also shower-proof so kids don’t have to worry about spilling anything on their device and a Fitbit app allows parents to set goals and lets kids view their progress and stats on the Kid View dashboard.

Why We Like It

10 different watch faces to choose from

Monitors steps, activity, and sleep

Rewards kids for reaching their goals

Sends motivating reminders to stay active

Parents can set up a Family Account on their smartphone

Our Verdict

Fitbit devices are incredibly popular and useful but most models are simply too large for kids to wear and come with a hefty price tag. The Fitbit Ace offers the solution to these problems by being designed for smaller wrists and eliminating the heart rate monitor, which accounts for the more affordable price.

It’s a fantastic way to keep kids motivated by awarding badges for reaching their goals and sending reminders to get active. The sleep monitor and step counter are accurate and parents will love the fact that they can set their child’s goals and monitor their progress from the Family Account.

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8. Fitbit Charge 3

Fitbit makes our list again with the Charge 3 . This device is great for older kids who want a stylish way to monitor their heart rate, sleep patterns, activities, and steps. With a battery life up to 7 days, kids can spend more time getting fit and less time charging their smartwatch. It comes with over 15 exercise modes to track performance in tasks like swimming, yoga, biking, and running.

It’s swim-proof and water-resistant to 50 meters and kids can access the Fitbit app to monitor their progress, compete with friends, and set daily goals. It even connects to a smartphone for access to apps, calls, texts, and GPS-based pace and distance tracking.

Why We Like It

Several stylish colors

Fully-loaded performance tracker

Pairs with smartphones for texts, apps, notifications, and calls

Tracks progress in over 15 different exercise modes

Monitors sleep and 24/7 heart rate

Our Verdict

The Fitbit Charge 3 is one of the best fitness bands for older kids on the market today. It boasts a premium design and offers plenty of stylish strap choices. It’s a great way for kids to receive notifications on their wrists so they can put down their smartphone and get more active.

And with improved fitness tracking, over 15 exercise modes, the ability to monitor sleep, steps, and heart rate, access to the Fitbit app, and tons of useful apps, it’s one of the most robust models on the market.

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9. LeapFrog LeapBand

Designed for kids ages 4 through 7, the LeapFrog LeapBand is the perfect introduction to fitness trackers. It boasts a fun design and comes pre-loaded with 50 activity challenges like “wiggle like a worm” and “pounce like a lion”, designed to teach kids and get them moving. And parental controls let you set challenges and play times for your child.

Plus, your child can choose from 8 virtual pets that thrive on active play and will motivate them to keep moving. And to keep children motivated, kids earn points by moving, allowing them to unlock an assortment of other pets and pet accessories. Perfect for kids ages 4 to 7 years old (see these awesome gifts for 7-year-old girls).

Why We Like It

Parents can set goals and play times

50 fun activity challenges for young children

Virtual pet to keep kids motivated

Point system allows kids to unlock new rewards

Our Verdict

The LeapFrog LeapBand is the perfect smartwatch for kids between the ages of 4 and 7 years old. It’s available in pink, green, and blue and features a fun design that kids will love. Parental controls let you see how active your child is each day and allows you to program a timer so it keeps tracking steps even though your child can’t play with the device while they’re in school.

And the fun, kid-friendly challenges and virtual pet reward system are innovative ways to encourage young children to have fun and stay active.

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Smartwatch for Kids Buyer’s Guide

What to Look for in a Smartwatch for Kids

Later in this article, we’re going to show you the top 10 smartwatches for kids in 2019. But with so many options out there, you’re probably wondering what you should be looking for when purchasing one of these wearable electronic devices. There are a few factors to consider when choosing which product to buy. By keeping these things in mind, you’ll be able to find the perfect smartwatch for your child.

Design

One of the first things to consider is the style of the smartwatch. There’s a variety of models out there for kids of all ages. Young children are probably going to want a brightly colored model that’s as fun to wear as it is to use. They tend to have larger, customizable watch faces that will entertain kids and help them learn how to tell time. Teenagers are going to appreciate streamlined devices that are stylish and simple.

They’re usually more streamlined and, while they might have colored bands, tend to look more like the models you’d find on the wrists of adults. Regardless of colors and style, another thing you’re going to want to consider is the size of the smartwatch.

Smartwatches for young kids need to have smaller faces and thinner and shorter bands. This will ensure that the smartwatch you buy fits comfortably on your child’s smaller wrist and isn’t too bulky.

Parental Safety Features

While parental control and monitoring might not be a concern if you’re buying one of these devices for a teenager, it’s certainly something to consider if you are purchasing it as a gift for a young child. Many of the most popular models are compatible with SIM cards and are equipped with GPS that allows you to pinpoint your child’s location.

Plus, newer smartwatches come with GSM-modules with refined positioning on Wi-Fi that allow you to keep tabs on your kids in areas with bad GPS reception. Besides, tracking your child’s location, some models feature a “Safety Zone” feature that sends you an alert when your kid leaves a pre-defined area.

Another great safety feature is remote monitoring. There are several smartwatches that allow you to remotely monitor your child through the microphone and camera. This lets you see and hear what’s happening with your child in real-time.

Communication

Some smartwatches simply track activity and let kids play with some apps or games while others can pair up with a smartphone and allow your child to receive calls, notifications, and text messages right on their wrists. This is a great way to keep in contact with your child while ensuring that they don’t miss your call because they’re playing and don’t have their phone in their hands.

Fitness Features

A basic smartwatch is perfect for young kids who are just being introduced to wearable technology. They let your children play fun and education games while tracking their movement and keeping count of their steps. More advanced models are aimed at older or more active children who enjoy playing sports and get a kick out of monitoring various fitness activities

These smartwatches can provide stats on basic daily activities like sleep, calories burned, steps taken, and heart rate. They also tend to have a variety of pre-set exercise modes that allow kids to set goals and view stats in a variety of different activities like running, walking, cycling, yoga, swimming, and more.

Conclusion

There’s a wide-variety of smartwatches out there that are great for kids of all ages. The important thing to consider is what you and your child want to get out of the device. If you want reassurance and safety, make sure that the device you’re looking at offers GPS, monitoring, call and text capabilities, and other parental control options.

If it’s an introductory device for a young child, make sure it’s fun and comes with a variety of multimedia functions, games, and apps. And if you’re buying a gift for an older child, make sure that the device has fitness functions like a heart rate monitor, pedometer, sleep monitor, and various sport tracking functions.

Expert Tip

With so many options out there, it’s important to choose the right smartwatch for your child. Teens who are already active or play sports will love a wearable device that offers a variety of fitness tracking modes and can monitor things like heart rate, steps, and sleep patterns. Younger kids will enjoy simpler models that offer fun games and fitness challenges that reward them as they become more active.